Every month, as if she were paying a bill, Viola Parish writes a check, sticks it in an envelope and puts it in the mail from Edina.

Every month, for at least the past 12 years, Parish has sent off $30 but it isn’t to a bill collector or for rent or a mortgage. Instead, those checks have reached Hope’s Kitchen in Kirksville.

And those $30 feed about 15 people every month, Hope’s Kitchen Board member Tim Tucker told Parish earlier this week at the Daily Express office, finally having the opportunity to thank the woman who’s check total makes her one of, if not the largest single donor to the non-profit soup kitchen.

“She doesn’t miss a month,” Tucker said.

Tucker and fellow board member Cathy Wood presented Parish with a recognition certificate and their thanks, meeting face-to-face for the first time.

“It’s impressive,” Tucker said. “The contribution and the consistency. The commitment has been longstanding.”

And Parish, who turned 98 just recently, said it was her husband Alva and his legacy and praise for the soup kitchen effort that inspired her to make 12 annual donations each year since his passing in 2001.

“He just thought it was nice [the founding students] did that,” Parish said of Hope’s start more than a decade ago. “It goes to help somebody. It gives them a chance to get out and have a free meal.”

Born and raised in Edina, Parish said while raising 11 children that her family did not have difficulty putting food on the table, but that she understands the plight of those that struggle with food security.

“We didn’t have everything fancy,” she said. “But we had enough to eat.”

Service in the Parish family extends beyond donations, with the proud great-great-grandmother of 22 recounting her children and their children’s extensive military service in the Navy and the Army.

“There’s just a trend of commitment and service in your family, isn’t there?” Tucker asked Parish, who nodded and smiled.